


Rest

by Patherfind



Series: Fl4k/Zer0 fluff! [2]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Domestic fluff?!, How Do I Tag, Other, Skags, nb characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 13:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19477069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patherfind/pseuds/Patherfind
Summary: I’m bad at titles!But after some assassining around and some back to back missions, Fl4k and Zer0 are at the house at the same time!And Fl4k has a gift for Zer0!





	Rest

For the first time in a while, Zer0 had no tasks to preoccupy themself with. Atlas didn’t need any help right now, what with four new Vault Hunters being on the case. Sure, Zer0 could make themself useful, but they were in an odd mood as to say.  
The lonely assassin slinked around their home. It was a small apartment, one bedroom, one bath. It had a living room/kitchen combo as well, no real barrier to separate the two. It was cozy, they preferred the home to be small. It was cozy, akin to a nest or lair. It was made cozier by the fact that the assassin did not live alone, no. They got to share the company of the tranquil environment with Fl4k. 

Zer0 hummed a soft tune to themself. It sounded out of place, coming from the haiku hitman, but they were alone and had to occupy the dead space around them. Waiting was their least favorite thing to do. The stillness of life made them itch with unbridled energy. Back in their more intensive vault hunting, the assassin would go and say, murder entire bandit camps for fun. Things were different now, with them needing to always be only a call away from their employer, or friend, Rhys.  
They didn’t mind that aspect, though they did feel like a beast pacing in a cage, ready to leap out and murder whatever was asked of them. Sometimes Zer0 was asked to help guide the fresh Vault Hunters, but the others also equally had this opportunity. It would be unfair of them to take the request every time it was dropped into their groupchat. So, they always ended up in an odd spot of the week of having nothing to do, overlapped with time in which Fl4k was out running missions with the others, or solo, depending on. 

While Zer0 did think about them for a portion of their day, they didn’t worry. Fl4k was a Vault Hunter, just as the assassin used to be. Sometimes they wondered if there would be a third.. Another Vault Guardian to take on. It would be a fun challenge, but perhaps it was best left so that the group of four could test themself and their teamwork. Though they still longed to experience another thrilling battle like that. A trial to prove they still had their edge. Which they did, of course, but they could solemn prove it.  
Though, there was no telling on how everything would fold out. Things were still early, Fl4k and the others had only started working for Atlas and helping with the war for around... It was approaching the three months mark. In that time, they had gotten a lot done, but there was still the lingering threat of Maliwan and the Calypso twins. 

The assassin slowly paced in a circle, looking around the living room. Over the days it had slowly become a mess. The two had both been busy and only stopped by to crash, sleep, and eat (in Zer0’s case). Neither of them had gotten a chance to tidy it up. Zer0 decided that they could at least begin tackling the mess. Make at least this room and the next presentable for when Fl4k returned, which should be in a few hours based on the information posted from their current mission guide.

The thought of them being on a mission... Made the assassin slightly jealous. Ever since they had met the wandering Beastmaster, being alone had lost much of its appeal. The silence felt especially wrong, empty air...  
Zer0 picked up a pile of jackets and old clothing to take to wash. The pile, however, squirmed as they were picking it up.

**!**  
From underneath the clothes pile, a skag raised its head and gave a raspy yawn. Oh. The emote faded away quickly and was replaced with a smile. Zer0 watched the large beast stretch its hindlegs and back, then it shook itself off and sat, much like a dog would. Zer0 shifted the clothes to one hand and used their right to pet the skag, in front of the spikes on the top of its head. The skag gave a chirpy sound, which was unintelligible, but clearly showed happiness.  
Zer0 gave them a few more pats before continuing with their task, which consisted of dropping all of it into the washing machine, pouring in the laundry soap, then putting some random settings with the dials, which they hadn’t fully figured out just yet. Ah well, it would most likely wash the clothes, and Fl4k wouldn’t mind. 

It was a few more hours into the day. Zer0 had cleaned up the living room, kitchen, and bedroom. It was mostly just things being out of place from the two tired hunters forgetting to put it back after use. How the peanut butter got on top of the fridge, however, still baffled Zer0. Sure they could reach it, but it still brought up the question of how. They must have been tired and threw together a sandwich.. And... Placed this hear?

A light clawing sound interrupted their train of questioning. Zer0 glanced downwards and was greeted to the sight of Bonesaw attempting to climb up the side of the fridge.

**:/**

That explained that then. Zer0 shook their head slightly, leaving the jar there, but nudging it back a few inches.  
They looked around the kitchen for anything else to put up. There wasn’t a lot of clutter here to begin with, though. Zer0 didn’t eat a lot of food, and Fl4k didn’t at all, so there were really only bare essentials stored. Peanut butter, bread, that pizza box in the fridge, coffee, granola, twinkies, cookie baking supplies.. All very important and part of a healthy diet.

Bonesaw stopped their incessant clawing for a moment, then fell back onto all fours and ran to the door, giving a low rumbling sound, it sounded like a distorted bark, but lower. 

Oh! Zer0 emoted a smile as they watched him run off. That must mean Fl4k is here. The assassin put up the crackers they were holding, then went to dig a sweater out of the clean laundry. A nice red pullover. Zer0 pulled it over their armor as they heard the door getting unlocked and pushed open.

=

Fl4k stepped inside, seeing Bonesaw. They blinked their light to the skag, giving a small wave as they rolled their backpack off, depositing it by the door.  
“Hi! Hello.” Fl4k said, crouching down so that the skag wouldn’t have to jump up so far. They wrapped their arms around Bonesaw and made small beeps to them, patting them and saying words of greeting. 

From behind Fl4k entered Dukino! Fl4k’s first and eldest skag. They looked much like Bonesaw, but slightly smaller and with primarily red coloring. Dukino gave a loud chirp and ran into the house, almost skidding right into a wall.  
Fl4k looked up to Dukino and tilted their head slightly, an imitation of a confused skag, which they had learned from, well, skags. As they spotted the condition of the living room, they could feel their mood lifting a bit. This was great..! The living room was tidy, and Dukino had darted into the kitchen. That could only mean...

“Zer0?” Fl4k asked with a cheery tone to their voice, closing and locking the door behind themself as they rose. The Beasttamer glanced to their backpack for a moment, then headed into the kitchen after Dukino.

“Hello Fl4k.” Zer0 responded upon seeing them. The assassin was sitting on the floor, wearing a red sweater, and petting Dukino in a slightly awkward way, sort of just patting their head up and down. Fl4k gave a sound akin to a laugh. “I see you cleaned up.” Fl4k pointed out, scanning the kitchen. This room was spotless as well. 

“I did clean up, I/ tackled the monster that was/ all of our clutter.” Zer0 responded in their typical way, a haiku that usually exaggerated the situation at hand.  
Fl4k nodded, blinking to that as they walked over to Zer0. They offered their four-fingered hand and Zer0 accepted with theirs. The Beastmaster helped them up, though the assassin probably didn’t need much help with anything. 

“How was the mission?/ Find what you were looking for?/ Kill all the bandits?” They inquired to Fl4k.  
The mission was simple. Steal a supply shipment from Maliwan to the local cultists... Well, it was supposed to be simple. Things had been going well for the most part, until the end. The cultists, well, some of them had managed to snag a few guns. Rocket launchers, to be exact... The Vault hunters were alive. Fl4k was fine, but the others had suffered some injuries, and Moze’s bear was in need of repairs. 

“We did both tasks, but there were a few injuries.” Fl4k said, before quickly waving to themself. “Everyone’s okay though.” They added, knowing that the assassin had the tendency to worry, even if the alien didn’t outwardly show it.

**:(**

“No, really. The team’s ok.” Fl4k reiterated, then simply wrapped Zer0 in a big bear hug. While Fl4k WAS quite tall, their layered sweaters made them even nicer to hug. That, and they also were basically always radiating warmth.  
They could feel the assassin relax. “Well, that’s good./ Our enemies won’t/ pause for us.” Zer0 said after a moment of just enjoying the moment.  
The assassin glanced towards the window, noting that it was beginning to grow even darker than earlier. Zer0 slipped out of the hug after a second and pointed their thumb towards the hallway with the bedroom. “Rest now?” Zer0 asked shortly, breaking out of haiku for the brief phrase.

Fl4k nodded, “Yes. You go first, I have to feed the skags first.” They explain. It wasn’t a lie, in actuality. They also had.. Well, they had been saving up for a while and had bought something for the assassin. It was in their pack, which still was lying against the wall by the door.  
Zer0 stared for a moment, mask blank, before giving a quick **:)!**

The Beastmaster gave a wave as the assassin went to bed before them. Once they were out of sight, Fl4k went to their bag and pulled out two skag-food dishes. They quickly headed for the fridge, then opened the freezer. Fl4k pulled out some Thresher steaks for them, quickly going to warm them up in the oven.  
The skags didn’t usually mind how they were prepared, in fact, they were already running around the living room in a frenzy, just from the scent of the frozen meal. While that was heating up and thawing, Fl4k went back to their bag and picked it up. It was quite heavy, for normal people at least, but they lifted it with ease. It was funny to think about the bag’s weight, considering that Zane had thought it to be light, then, upon putting it on quickly, jokingly blamed Fl4k for their aching back. Fl4k had replied with something regarding their hair being a sign of age.  
That had been one of their many team moments where everyone was laughing and having a good time...

Fl4k thought about this for a small bit longer before opening one of the side pockets. From there, they pulled out a small rectangular box. Fl4k opened the top and shifted their jaw a bit at the sight. Quickly putting the lid back on, they slipped it into one of the many layers on their sweater.

Upon feeding both skags, and making sure they didn’t steal each other's food, Fl4k went to check on Zer0 and settle in for the night themself. And to give them their present, of course!  
Fl4k peeked into the room carefully. Zer0 was leaning against the headboard, and had taken off the more spikier bits of their equipment. Namely their poky shoulder and elbow platings. Fl4k waved in a muted action to them, blinking slightly. 

Zer0 emoted a simple, red <3 to them. Fl4k made their way over and sat on their side of the bed, causing the springs to creak slightly and for it to sink to their side. The beastmaster gave a small sigh and took off their outer sweater. Then their red bandana. Before tossing their big coat onto the ground, they took out the box subtly. Apparently it wasn’t subtle enough to escape the gaze of the hunter, as they were now pointing at it. “What’s in that box, Fl4k?/” Zer0 asked, a question mark showing against their visor to emphasis their question. 

“It’s for you.” Fl4k replied with, pushing the box towards the lanky assassin, who adjusted and sat cross legged. “Ah. Thank you. I love boxes,/” Zer0 took it in both hands and stared down at it, before holding it higher to look at it closely. “Is this a gift then?” Zer0 pondered aloud, finishing their haiku in the process of inspecting the outside.

‘’Yes.” Fl4k confirmed, tossing their sweater aside. It hit the floor with a light THUD. “You should open it.” They add, noticing how Zer0’s gaze didn’t leave the lid of the box.

The assassin nodded, carefully taking the lid off of the box... ! Zer0 looked up from the contents and to Fl4k. “New tools of slaughter?/ I see... Thank you very much./ How wonderful.” Zer0 said, taking the lid off completely.  
**:0**

Inside the box were four kunai, resting in some foam shapes to fit the sharp little blades. The metal was black, accented with a red edge and a white handle. Zer0 turned the box to show Fl4k again, their emoji disappearing and being replaced with a heart again. 

Fl4k gave the equivalent of a smile. They were glad that the assassin liked the gift.They had been saving up extra mission money for a while to buy them.. It wasn’t really to celebrate anything, it just felt nice to buy something for Zer0, considering how helpful they were to Fl4k. How great they treated them... It was the least they could do. 

“I’m glad you like them! I’m sure you’re tired, though. Maybe tomorrow, if we’re off.. We can go test them on some bandits?” Fl4k suggested.  
Zer0 shook their head softly to this. They did have to work tomorrow, unfortunately. “You bought these for me./ I don’t want bandit on these./ They are... my treasure.” Zer0 explained their real reasoning. “And, I have work then.” 

It was flattering that they thought that. “Oh.” Fl4k rubbed the back of their neck in thought. “That’s fine with me then. We can always hang out some other time.” They say, watching the assassin take out one of the kunai.

Zer0 examined it, turning it over in their hands. They liked the weight of it and the color scheme for sure... After a moment, they placed it back into its spot, then closed the box. The question was: Where to put it?... For now, the assassin set it on the bedside table, then basically somersaulted back onto the bed.  
Fl4k’s earlier observation about their tiredness was correct... They hadn’t slept in what must have been a week, and the effects were starting to settle in. They gave a small noise, which must have been a yawn. Though an aspect of it seemed to be... A partial growl

The Beastmaster shifted to lie beside Zer0, then they pulled up the blankets. Zer0, of course, cuddled closer to the taller Vault Hunter. After a bit, they both drifted to sleep...

And of course in the midst of their slumber, the two skags in the house recreated the mess Zer0 had cleaned previously. But the couple remained undisturbed.


End file.
